


i may have not gone where i intended to go

by ReapersAngel



Series: it's our journey [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arrest, Bonding, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cheren is not mentioned but is guilty, Disclaimer: Credits to Nintendo and Pokemon and Gamefreak, Dragonspiral Tower (Pokemon), Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Trauma, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I love N, Implied Muteness, Isshu-chihou | Unova Region (Pokemon), IsshuShipping - Freeform, Kissing, Legendary Pokemon, Lostlorn Forest (Pokemon), Lots of hurt-y stuff going on, M/M, Marked underage again because technically, Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Mental Link, Multi, Muteness, N is roughly 18-20, Nacrene Museum (Pokemon), Not rating this because, Pokemon, Psychological Trauma, Relic Castle (Pokemon), Reunion, Sad with a Happy Ending, Separation Anxiety I guess?, Separations, Team Plasma (Pokemon), Touya is 14-16, Touya's Pokemon are unspecified, Trauma, mental trauma, sorry for all the angst, y'know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:34:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReapersAngel/pseuds/ReapersAngel
Summary: The search for Reshiram is underway. Pros: New legendary that bonds with Touya, meeting a longlost friend. Cons: Arrest, trauma, separation, etc. It ends well, I promise.(Intended lowercaps title)Sequel to i think i have ended up where i intended to be
Relationships: N | Natural Harmonia Gropius & Touko | Hilda, N | Natural Harmonia Gropius & Touya | Hilbert, N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touya | Hilbert, Touko | Hilda & Touya | Hilbert
Series: it's our journey [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077227
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	i may have not gone where i intended to go

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid of the tags!!!!! It's... hopefully not as bad as it seems...
> 
> Anyways, this is my sequel to i think i have ended up wehre i intended to be. It's really not as bad as it sounds(?).

“Do you think,” N said as they watched Minccino play with the Pokémon of Lostlorn Forest, “That we should search for Reshiram?”

* * *

That had been the sentence that had kickstarted this whole thing, Touya muses. Before Lostlorn they’d been at Liberty Garden, then Pinwheel Forest, then the Dreamyard. Briefly they’d stopped off close to Aspertia City to - regretfully, on Touya’s part - get rid of his Pokédex once they’d realized it had a GPS chip. They’d almost crushed some kids on the descent, who’d stared wide-eyed at Zekrom. They’d reminded Touya of younger versions of himself, Cheren, and Bianca, and startlingly had brought up hidden memories of a laughing girl with long brown hair. In exchange for their silence, they’d traded the kids his Pokédex.

N’s arms tightening around his waist bring Touya out of his thoughts. “...okay?” He asks quietly.

Touya smiles and squeezes his hands reassuringly as Zekrom lands. “Okay,” He says back. He shields his eyes from the windblown sand. “Are you sure it’s here?”

N pats Zekrom and the black dragon flies off. “Reshiram- I mean, the Light Stone - is either here or at the Nacrene Museum.” He grimaces, adding, “I really hope it’s here.”

Touya stares at the eroded, ruined walls of Relic Castle and sighs in agreement. In his hood, Minccino, curled up to protect herself from the sand, chirps. “Me too,” He murmurs.

* * *

As they learn, the Light Stone isn’t anywhere in Relic Castle - not even its hidden depths or the areas Pokémon - and now, N and Touya - only know about. Somewhat grimly, they set off for Nacrene City.

“It’s been a few months, they can’t still be looking for us, right?” Touya says, mostly to himself to try and justify this.

N leans into him soothingly, but doesn’t say anything. Even Minccino’s chirps aren’t as cheerful at the prospect of being caught. 

Dropping down onto the roof of Nacrene Museum in the middle of the night doesn’t bring up any memories, but flitting into the museum itself does. He remembers standing in front of the huge Dragonite skeleton with N, both of which are here. He smiles at the thought.

Carefully they weave their way through the museum, searching for the Light Stone. There’s no sign of it, until N jerks Touya back so suddenly he almost falls.

“This was it,” He whispers. They peer into an empty glass case on a pedestal. Minccino slips from N’s hat to Touya’s shoulder. He pets her absently.

N hears it before he does, yanking Touya behind him in a whirl. The snarl on his face is so alien and so wild and so, so sharp. Minccino leaps in front of them, little fists up like she’s ready to fight. The lights flicker on.

“We’d thought you’d be quicker than this,” Lenora says, her heels tapping on the floor as she walks in. Her Stoutland growls besides her. “Finally think about poor Reshiram, after all this time?”

N bristles, and Mincinno unleashes a Hyper Voice. Lenora and her Stoutland look barely affected. An Ultra Ball appears in her hand, and she palms it absently.

“Word gets around, you know,” She says. Her tone is almost conversational, and it shoves Touya closer to the edge. “Not sure how much of it is true, but some say that that Minccino is still wild.”

Minccino squeals in outrage and Touya clenches his fists. She ducks from the Thunder Fang from Lenora’s Stoutland and Iron Tails it. It stumbles away, winded.

No one moves for a minute, the only sound being the rain pounding on the windows and Zekrom’s roar. If Touya had been anyone else, it would have been indecipherable from the lightning striking a split-second later.

“We can’t involve Zekrom in this,” N murmurs to him. Touya nods, taking an aborted step forward when Stoutland sends Minccino flying.

Suddenly security guards appear at his elbows and restrain him. Touya shouts and kicks, watching helplessly as more materialize to tear him and N apart. N looks at him, terrified. His lips form Touya’s name, but Touya can barely hear anything over the crashing of his own heartbeat in his ears. Minccino runs between them, torn and with tears in her eyes. N disappears around a doorway, roughly enough that his hat comes off his head. She dashes for it and grabs it, racing back towards Touya. The security guards swat her away and Stoutland nails her from behind with a Crunch. N’s hat flutters in the air for a moment, and before anyone can react Touya lunges and grasps it. The last thing he knows before he’s jerked away is Minccino’s wailing, abruptly cut off.

* * *

The first one they let in is a woman, from the sound of it. That had been only some time after they’d stuck him in the blank room with only the wooden chair and the metal table for company and left him there. The woman’s sobbing is distant, uninterfering with the millions of countless thoughts - _Where is N_ and _I want Minccino_ and _Is Zekrom okay_ \- flowing through his head. _I love you_ is what it finally settles on.

Touya doesn’t notice that the woman is his mother, or that she’d asked “Why?”, or that he’d said those three words out loud. She leaves, crying and confused. “Why would he say that?”

The law enforcement officers are quick to comfort her. “It’s just Stockholm Syndrome, ma’am,” One says reassuringly, “Once we get your son the help he needs he’ll be just fine.”

* * *

Touya doesn’t know how much time has passed since he was seated in this room. He doesn’t leave his seat except for the mandatory bathroom breaks, and he doesn’t both counting the nondescript people that come in and ask him carefully worded questions. He feels empty, littered with raw, salted wounds - they’ve taken N, they’ve taken Minccino, and now they’ve taken his Pokémon. The only thing they haven’t taken from him is N’s hat, and that’s only because he growls and bares his teeth at anyone who so much as looks at it. He can hear them calling him wild, rabid, feral when they think he can’t hear them. Touya doesn’t care; it still smells like N.

He focuses on the good things: the smile that had been on N’s face after they’d broken into a store at two am (and left money, of course) and Touya had shown him how to make ice cream in a plastic bag and he declared it even better than Castelia Cones; his eyes, green and grey and blue and sometimes filled with lightning when he looks at Zekrom or Minccino or Pokémon or even at Touya himself; his hands, always so expressive, fingers fluttering and flying and outlining things when he talks; his voice, so loud when he gets excited and lost in his subject; his breathing and his pulse after Touya’s kissed him, fast but quiet as he leans back in.

He’s just catching sleep again - that’s all he can do now, just quick, short bursts of sleep - when the door opens. He’s instantly alert. Whoever it is isn’t anyone he’s seen before, though - the gait too different, the steps almost light. He nearly frowns.

When he looks up, surprise registers dimly in him. It’s a girl, about his age, with long brown hair pulled in a ponytail in a cap like his. She’s familiar, but he can’t quite place his finger on it.

“Hi, Touya,” She says softly, “I’m Touko. Remember me?”

It clicks. “You’re the laughing girl.”

Touko laughs at that, but it’s more subdued that Touya remembers. “And you’re the quiet boy,” She parrots back. He offers her a weak smile.

“I’ve brought you some things,” She says. Touya looks at her questioningly, and she places his Pokéballs in front of him. Quickly he releases all of his Pokémon and smiles at them - they’re happy to see him too. Touko smiles at him.

“There’s more,” She says. She hands him an Ultra Ball, and, recognizing the figure inside, Touya hurriedly thumbs the release. Minccino pops out, stunned, and squeals happily when she sees him.

“Here,” Touko says. She reaches down and puts something heavy on the table. Touya’s eyes widen, taking in the steel-grey incubator-like object. It’s a Pokéball Destroyer, used for harmlessly releasing Pokémon. The only places he’s seen them are Pokémon Centers, and even there they’re government-issued.

Touko grins. “I have some sway,” She says. It feels like an understatement. Her next words address Minccino: “It’s here if you want.” Minccino unceremoniously dumps the Ultra Ball inside and slams it shut without hesitation. Touko smiles at her and presses a button; a shield-like casing slides up and a few seconds later when it slides back down the Ultra Ball is neatly dismantled.

“Is there anything else you need or want?” She asks.

“Why are you so nice?” Touya blurts out. Touko gives him a smile and a shrug.

“You love him,” She says. It’s not a question but a fact, and Touya nods. “Everyone thinks you got kidnapped and that it’s Stockholm Syndrome.”

“And you don’t?”

Touko shakes her head. “You can’t fake what you and him have.” She sighs wistfully. “I met him once, you know,” She says, smiling at some far-off memory. Touya leans forward.

“I was at Giant Chasm. I don’t know why he was there, but we stared at each other. Then he just turned around and left. I felt like he’d just seen my soul or something, he was so unreadable.”

Touya nods. “He was like that, once.”

“Not anymore,” Touko agrees. “He lights up when I even say your name.”

“Is he okay though?” Touya finds himself asking.

“He looks like you,” Touko says. Elaborating, she says, gesturing at him, “Pale. Haggard. Sleep-deprived. Hollow. Like he’s missing his heart and half of himself.”

“Bring this to him,” Touya says. He takes off his hat and presses it into her hands. “Please.”

“I will,” Touko says, tucking it under her arm. She heaves up the Pokéball Destroyer and waves. “I’ll be seeing you.”

* * *

True to her words, Touko visits often enough that Touya half-expects her to walk in whenever the door opens. Since their reunion he’s learned why she left Nuvema Town: apparently her father is part of the International Police. She’s been to most of the regions, and she joined Unova’s law enforcement as a consultant when she returned. He’s met all of her Pokémon, and she’s told him she’s working on getting his requests fulfilled - he understands getting to see N will take a long time, even if he’s impatient, and no one seems to want to part with the Light Stone. 

Despite the latter, a week later Touko bursts in, grinning. “Good news!” She exclaims, setting down a velvet bag in front of him. “Light Stone’s all yours for-” She cheekily checks her wrist for her nonexistent watch. “-until you want to give it back!”

Touya’s jaw drops, and she beams at him. “Seriously?!”

“Seriously!” She says. She waggles her fingers as she skips out. “Touko out! Enjoy your gift!”

Still smiling, Touya reaches into the bag and takes out the Light Stone. A slip of paper, fluttering at the movement, is caught against his fingers and the Stone.

Touya lowers the Light Stone and pretends to marvel at it. In reality he’s unfolding the little piece of paper and reading it.

_The only reason they’ve kept you here so long_ , Touko’s messy cursive script reads, _is because of him. They’ll let you go in a week; I’ve got a plan._

Touya nods to himself and lets Minccino go to town tearing it up. Hesitantly, he raises the Light Stones and touches his forehead to it.

_Hello little one. What brings you to my humble abode?_

Touya nearly jerks away. “H-... hello?” He ventures.

He gets the feeling Reshiram is rolling its eyes. _Just in your thoughts is fine, little one._

_...Okay_ , He thinks. _I'm not little, though._

Reshiram snorts. _Please. Next to that grassy twig boyfriend of yours, you’re short. I’m not_ blind _._

Touya sputters. _N isn’t-!_

Reshiram does the mental equivalent of brushing him off and shrugging. _Partners, lovers, Heroes of Truth and Ideals - whatever you kids call it these days._ It shuffles. _How is my sibling anyways?_

_Your… sibling?_ Touya asks.

_Yeah. Tall, black, no sense of humor, runs into things all the time._

Touya is hit with the sudden memory of Zekrom crashing into - more than a few - trees. _...Still running into things._

Reshiram sighs fondly. _I like you_ , It decides, _Once we get out of here you better believe I’ll get out of this damned stone._

_...Language._

_Little one, I’ve been stuck in here with no one to talk to for centuries!. I’ll curse all I want!_ Reshiram takes a deep breath. _FUC-_

Touya hurriedly drops the Light Stone. 

* * *

“It’s time to reacquaint you with society!” Touko trills cheerfully, bursting in.

“What?” He says. Touko sighs.

“It’s been nearly a week, Touya! I promised I’d get some sunshine into you, remember?” She says, hands on her hips. Touya just stares at her. She sighs again. “C’mon.”

Touko leads him out of the blank room, and, to Touya’s unsuspecting surprise, there’s a bunch of police officers roaming about. He recognizes absolutely none of them.

One of them narrows his eyes at them. “We’re still holding him, Miss White,” He says pointedly. It takes Touya a moment to remember that White is Touko’s surname.

“And he’s not a suspect, he’s a traumatized kidnapee,” Touko fires back. “He should’ve been released ages ago.”

“I’m not traumatized,” Touya protests. It goes unheard except for Touko waving an arm at him with a raised eyebrow. _See? Traumatized._

“It’s just lunch?” The officer says suspiciously.

“It’s just lunch,” Touko confirms. “Now, you’re keeping up from it. I’m _starving_.” Without another word she tugs him out.

“Where are we going?” He asks. Touko flashes a grin.

“You’ll see,” She says. 

In a few minutes they’ve gone in a loop to the back of what’s apparently the precinct. Touko breaks out a set of lockpicks, humming as she bends over the door. Touya isn't sure whether or not he should be concerned that a police consultant is breaking the law. She whistles just before the door clicks open, and a Joltik scurries over the wall. 

“You know the drill,” She tells it, and the Joltik squeaks in affirmation before squeezing under the door. Minccino leans forward to look, and a minute later it squeezes back out. Touko thanks it and opens the door.

“N,” She hisses, and Touya is taken aback, “Let’s go.”

N emerges, his green hair dusty and tangled, his fingers wrapped around his hair like a lifeline. His eyes light up and a grin splits his face when he sees Touya. Touya, still frozen in surprise, lets himself get swept up in a hug and closes his eyes, surrounding himself in N’s soft, quiet laughter. His hands tighten in N’s shirt, and MInccino, on his shoulder, bounds over and dives into his hair, regardless of its state. Touko coughs behind them.

“You’ll have time for that later, lovebirds,” She says, “For now, let’s get you three out of here.” She jerks his thumb over her shoulder to the woods behind the building. “Head that way for a bit, _then_ call Zekrom. It’ll be too conspicuous if you do it here.”

“Thank you, Touko,” N says sincerely. Touya leans into him, N’s arm a comforting band around his waist. His tone hardens. “Will they be pursuing us?”

“Nah,” She says, “Touya was a witness - even a victim - in their eyes, and you’ve been declared innocent of all the Plasma shenanigans. The only reason you two were kept was because the Gym Leaders wanted a chance to have at you.”

“Will you be okay?” Touya asks worriedly. Touko nods.

“They’ll find out you’re both missing soon, and I’ll just tell ‘em you went to the bathroom and gave me the slip. Besides, I don’t have a Pokémon with any web-type moves on my team, so they can’t trace the camera back to me. And-” She flashes them a grin and throws up a peace sign. “Where’s the fun if you don’t go a little vigilante sometimes?” She points threateningly at them. “I’m sending you guys letters, and if I don’t get a reply back soon I’ll hunt you both down and roast your butts so hard even a Tepig wouldn’t touch them.”

N smiles at that, and Touya waves and says “Take care” as he leads them away.

Touko laughs, waving her hand over her head. “I’ll be seeing you!” She calls, then runs off.

* * *

“There’s something symbolic about being here,” N comments as they land on the roof of Dragonspiral Tower. Touya nods as they dismount Zekrom and takes the Light Stone out of his bag. He takes a few steps forward and looks back at N, who smiles encouragingly. Inhaling, he presses his forehead to the smooth curve of the Stone.

_It’s time, isn’t it_ , Reshiram says wistfully. _I’ll miss being here._

_That wasn’t what you said last time_ , Touya points out. It huffs.

_It’s the principle of the thing, little one_ , Reshiram says. _Brace yourself, this won’t affect you but you might end up with a smoking twig of a boyfriend._

_Do you mean that metaphorically or-_

Touya doesn’t get to finish that thought before he feels like he’s at the relatively unaffected center of a heat wave. Something clicks inside of him, and when he opens his eyes he’s face to face with a giant catlike blue eye.

_Hello, little one_ , Reshiram says in amusement, _I believe your grass boyfriend just fell in love with you all over again._

Touya turns around, bewildered, and smiles sheepishly at the scorch marks burnt into the stone. N looks at him, eyes sparking - literally, the lightning sparks are still dying down. He sweeps Touya off his feet and swirls him, both of them almost falling over. He grins wildly, looking at Touya proudly when he finally sets him down.

“You’re flushed,” Touya says. N leans into his touch when he cups his cheeks.

“You’re not,” He responds cheekily, bushing the backs of his knuckles over Touya’s cheekbone. He laughs when Touya glares at him. “All right,” He relents, “Remember how you said there was a huge storm when I awoke Zekrom?” At Touya’s nods, he continues explaining. “Reshiram’s awakening produced heat with the intensity of the sun.”

“Ah,” Touya says, “Scorch marks.”

“Scorch marks, yes,” N agrees.

_Yes, I am hot_ , Reshiram says smugly. Touya chokes and turns red. 

N looks at him, puzzled and slightly concerned. “What is it?”

“Reshiram,” Touya chokes. N narrows his eyes and at Reshiram. It shrugs unapologetically.

_I said what I said_ , It utters, deadpan.

N scowls at that, then turns back to Touya, beaming. “Where should we go next?”

Touya smiles softly at him. “Wherever you are.”

The kiss N sweeps him into is worth this whole ordeal.

**Author's Note:**

> Get ready for a fuckton of notes:  
> \- Reshiram in the most sarcastic, sassiest thing you will ever meet in your life  
> \- Lenora actually came in and apolgized while Touya was in the blank room and said it was all in act. Touya, of course, did not hear. And despite claiming not to be traumatized he's either blocked it completely or he just chooses not to remember.  
> = He's actually blocked or chosen not to remember most of his encounters in the blank room. If he hasn't, he's at least blurred out the faces, like with his mother. Touko is basically the only one he remembers.  
> = The whole reason why this was so traumatizing is, technically, because of N, Zekrom, and, to an extent, Reshiram. Because of their bond and connection as Heroes (something the other bondeds don't have, because they're only bonded with their legendaries and not with their legendary and human conterparts (N is bonded with Reshiram and so are Touya and Zekrom, to some extent) (see surfacage's And The World Will Turn To Ash series to see where I got my inspiration from)) it's mentally and emotionally hard for them to be separated. Add on the fact that they were separated against their wills and with harsh force, plus their relationship, they're basically going to be traumatized (I don't have a better word). It was simutaneously better and worse for N: better because he'd awoken and bonded with Zekrom, who even though it wasn't physically there just being bonded helped N mentally (he didn't block out as much as Touya did, but he was unable to speak to anyone until he met Touko, who introduced herself as Touya's longlost childhood friend); worse because the emotional pain was more in focus than it was for Touya because he'd awoken and bonded with Zekrom, plus the fact that Zekrom wasn't able to be even remotely near him. Because Touya hadn't even communicated with Reshiram at first he didn't have the emotion crutch Zekrom was for N but it did get better once he met Touko and once she brought him the Light Stone.  
> = Also see here (https://mx-myth.tumblr.com/post/639041126126469120/idk-lmao-ever-since-i-read-surfis-and-the-world) for my take on their bond  
> \- When they (I'm talking Lenora, the police, the security guards, the whole shebang, inside the museum) let Minccino out at first she went off on a full rampage. Tore everything up. Cried. Threw tantrums. Let no one touch her. Touko hadn't come in at this point, and they were rumors of putting her down before she actually arrived.  
> = Touko actually saved her, because where everyone else saw a wild wild Pokémon she saw someone hurting and in pain  
> \- Touya is the prettiest boy  
> \- They (Touya and N) haven't exactly worked out what they are? They don't really care. They love each other, and that's what matters.  
> \- Believe it or not Reshiram is taller than Zekrom (and you better believe that it teases it relentlessly about it 24/7)  
> \- Touya's eyes are filled with fire the colour of Reshiram's tail when it glows when he awakens it and they stay that way for a bit  
> = The same thing happened to N (his eyes were filled with Zekrom's blue lightning) when he awoke Zekrom but did Touya notice? The answer is no, not really. He's dense that way (plus there was so much going on). He notices it later on though.  
> \- Cheren isn't mentioned but he's definitely getting eaten away. And it's really easy to write him as a jerk? There's so many what-ifs he's thinking about. He eventually understands that N makes Touya happy and he fights by their side.
> 
> Comments and kudoes appreciated!


End file.
